"[title of show] мюзиклының жасалу тарихы"

Musical by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell

[title of show] is a one act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell. The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and composer/lyricist and their two actress friends during the initial brief (three week) creative period, along with subsequent events leading up to the show's production. [title of show] was chosen for production by the Musical Theatre Festival and premiered there, in September 2004, in New York City. It later ran off Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006, earning a second limited run the same year, then played at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre in 2008 for 13 previews and 102 regular performances. Writer/stars Bowen and Bell, as well as director Michael Berresse all won Obie Awards for their work on the off Broadway production, and Bell was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. The musical spawned a recurring video blog about the show's journey to Broadway called The [title of show] Show.

[title of show] was conceived by friends Bowen and Bell during the spring of 2004 after Bell received an announcement for the inaugural New York Musical Theatre Festival. With the deadline just three weeks away, Bell began drafting the script with Bowen writing the lyrics and music. Due to the severe time constraints, and because the Festival required only the submission of a script plus four songs, Bowen wrote most lyrics without any accompanying melody, planning to finish the songs later. Nevertheless, many of these lyrics have remained intact through several incarnations and revisions to the show. Bowen and Bell, determined to write an original musical rather than adapt an existing play or movie, discovered almost immediately that their conversations about what to write were more interesting than what they were actually writing. As the idea to document the creation of the show itself ("a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical") became clearer, Bell and Bowen expanded the script based on their writing experiences with friends Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff. [title of show] has since become a post modern work in progress, with updates and changes to each new production reflecting the circumstances the cast and the show have experienced. Larry Pressgrove is the musical director and orchestrator in all productions to date.

The first three performances of [title of show], at the Manhattan Theatre Source in the summer of 2004, were produced by Laura Camien. The cast included Bowen, Bell, Blackwell, and Stacia Fernandez, playing the role of "Stacia". Bowen and Bell convinced several Broadway stars to participate in a recurring plot device by leaving recorded phone messages rejecting offers to star in the show. Messages featured in the Theatre Source and Festival performances included Idina Menzel, Marin Mazzie, Sutton Foster and Emily Skinner. The production premiered at the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival on September 22, 2004 (also produced by Camien), at the Belt Theatre, and ran for six performances as scheduled. Heidi Blickenstaff replaced Fernandez, who had accepted the understudy role to Beth Leavel in the Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone. While her character's name remained "Stacia" for the Festival performances, thereafter it became "Heidi", and the role was modified to reflect Blickenstaff's experiences while helping to expand and evolve the show. A year of expansion and revision followed. Kevin McCollum agreed to produce [title of show] for professional presentation after seeing it performed at the Festival. Five new songs were added: "Monkeys and Playbills", "What Kind of Girl is She? ", "Festival Medley/September Song", "Secondary Characters" and "Nine People's Favorite Thing". "The Wall", originally sung by Jeff and Stacia at the Festival, was rewritten as a solo for Heidi with new lyrics, and a new name, "A Way Back to Then." Changes to the book included the addition of the conflict between Susan and Heidi (as introduced by "What Kind of Girl Is She?") and the combined music and scenes "Awkward Photo Shoot" and "Change It, Don't Change It." Both reflected the tension among the cast members that had begun to set in since the Festival's performance and their uncertainty about an off Broadway run. After several performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT, six off off Broadway performances were staged at Ars Nova in New York City in September 2005. Phone messages in the Ars Nova production were left by Marin Mazzie and Emily Skinner again, with new messages from Amy Spanger and Victoria Clark. The success of these performances led to an offer by the Vineyard Theatre of a limited off Broadway run.

[title of show] was performed at the Vineyard Theatre from February 26, 2006 to April 24, 2006 as part of the theatre's regular season line up, followed by an extension of the production from July 14, 2006 through October 1, 2006. Christine Ebersole lent her voice to one of the phone messages. The production won three Obie Award Special Citations for its writer/stars and director. A performance was scheduled to play in San Francisco in 2008 but was canceled because of time constraints in moving the show to Broadway by July 2008. The show's transfer to Broadway is chronicled in "the [title of show] show" video blogs on YouTube and on the show's official web site.

The musical began previews on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on July 5, 2008 and officially opened on July 17. It closed October 12, 2008 after 13 previews and 102 performances. It was produced by McCollum, Roy Miller (producer of The Drowsy Chaperone), The Vineyard Theatre, Laura Camien and Kris Stewart, the founder of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. The entire off Broadway cast continued in the same roles, and Berresse continued as director. Added to the list of phone messages in the Broadway production was the voice of Patti LuPone. Scenic design was by Neil Patel, costumes by Chase Tyler and lighting by Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz. The show won a 2009 Broadway. com Audience Award for Favorite Ensemble Cast.

The UK premiere opened at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2013 starring Carley Stenson as Susan, Ricky Johnston as Hunter, Robbie Towns as Jeff and Jamie Lee Pike as Heidi. The London premiere opened at the Landor Theatre in August, 2013 starring Scott Garnham as Hunter, Simon Bailey as Jeff, Sarah Galbraith as Susan and Sophia Ragavelas as Heidi.

The German language premiere was presented at the Admiralspalast, Berlin in April 2017. The production starred Dennis Weißert (Hunter), Alexander Soehnle (Jeff), Annika Henz (Heidi), Franziska Kuropka (Susan) and Damian Omansen (Larry). The creative team included Damian Omansen (musical direction), Silvia Varelli (choreography and musical staging), Daniel Unger (design), Jonathan Richter (sound) and Martin Siemann (light). The show was directed by Robin Kulisch who also provided the official German translation. The production also played Hamburg (at the Schmidtchen, April and November 2018) and Munich (WERK7 theater, May and October 2022). For the Hamburg run, Benjamin Sommerfeld joined the cast as Hunter. In Munich, Robin Reitsma joined the cast as Jeff.

Several regional productions have been staged, starting in January 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Los Angeles premiere production ran from July 16, 2010 to September 11, 2010, at the Celebration Theatre with Jennifer R. Blake, Carey Peters, Jeffrey Landman, Micah McCain, and Gregory Nabours, for which Jennifer R. Blake won Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical for the role of Susan from StagesceneLA's Best of LA Theatre Awards 2009 2010 A production ran from November 16, 2010 to December 12, 2010 at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey, with Seth Rudetsky, Tyler Maynard, Lauren Kennedy and Susan Mosher. A production by Forte Musical Theatre Guild in Calgary ran from May 24 to June 4, 2011, directed by: Glenda Stirling

The Interlochen Arts Academy presented the musical in October 2012. With the help of two of the show's creators, Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, an expanded ensemble was added to the production. This production was toured to New York for a weekend run at the Helen Mills Theater. A Danish production opened January 31, 2013, in Fredericia, 200 km west of Copenhagen. It was directed by Victoria Bussert and stars Lars Mølsted as Henrik (Hunter], Thomas Jensen as Jeff, Bjørg Gamst as Heidi, Maria Skuladottir as Susan and Thomas Møller as Lars (Larry). Danish translation by Thomas Bay and Mads Nielsen. The show was first seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013, starring Carley Stenson as Susan, Robbie Towns as Jeff, Ricky Johnston as Hunter, and Jamie Lee Pike as Heidi. Other foreign productions include Hong Kong (2015).

The show opens with a musical number introducing the premise of the musical ("Untitled Opening Number"). Jeff and Hunter, two struggling writers in New York, discuss the possibility of entering the upcoming inaugural New York Musical Theatre Festival. Though the submission deadline is only three weeks away, they make a pact to write an original musical in that time as a writing exercise. The scene morphs into song as they discuss setting their dialogue to music, imagine the success of their show, and express their longing for fame and recognition ("Two Nobodies In New York"). The two recruit their friends Susan and Heidi to help with the project. Jeff privately laments his writer's block; when his blank writing pad begins to look like Hunter, ideas begin to flow ("An Original Musical"). After Hunter's laptop crashes, resulting in much lost progress, Jeff and Hunter continue to battle writer's block by looking at song lists from old Playbills and brainstorming on a blank notepad; Susan and Heidi become voices in their heads, providing inspiration for their writing ("Monkeys and Playbills"). As they continue to write the show, excitement mounts; Hunter even ponders winning a Tony ("The Tony Award Song"), though Jeff reminds him that they have already cut the song he is in the midst of singing. Jeff and Hunter discuss their ambition to write for a living and become a part of the theatre industry they so admire ("Part of It All"). As Heidi and Jeff work on a solo about her doubts on the whole project, Hunter and Susan worry that they are just stringing sketches and novelty songs together and feel that they need to write something "a little meatier" ("I Am Playing Me"). Susan and Heidi become suspicious of each other ("What Kind Of Girl Is She?"). After a shared 'fake foggy dream sequence', the four express their doubts over the future and premise of their musical. Susan encourages them to keep going and 'kill their vampires', or the doubts preventing them from writing ("Die, Vampire, Die!"). Reenergized, they finish the show and, after discussing the show's production values (minimalistic set of four chairs, one costume throughout the show, etc. ), they tackle the festival's submission paperwork. Seeing the form asking for their "title of show" and lacking a better name, they decide to name their show [title of show] ("Filling Out The Form"). After a moment of doubt and a brief intimate moment between Hunter and Jeff, they finally submit the show to the festival. Against the odds, their musical is chosen for the festival. The four revel in their six performances at the festival ("Montage Part 1: September Song"); backstage, Heidi and Susan reconcile their differences and bond over their supporting roles in the show ("Secondary Characters"). The four find an industry producer interested in the show who encourages them to continue to develop it, first at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center before they get an offer to do the show Off Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. At their run there, they meet many industry stars, receiving a healthy mix of good and bad reviews as they soak up the energy and momentum of their Off Broadway run. Ten months later, Susan, Jeff, and Hunter are back at their 'day jobs' while Heidi receives an offer to join the cast of The Little Mermaid on Broadway. Hunter comes up with the idea of posting videos on the internet with the cast about the show to boost the show's popularity online — "the [title of show] show". The idea works — the show and the four go viral and the show's producer expresses interest in actually bringing the show to Broadway. As plans progress toward taking the musical to Broadway, things begin to unravel: the four friends argue over changes to the show to make it more marketable, cutting some of its more risque content ("Change It/Don't Change It"). Hunter gets a voicemail from Sutton Foster and, much to Jeff's chagrin, suggests casting her in Heidi's role for marketability. Tensions build — everything finally boils over at a publicity photo shoot ("Awkward Photo Shoot"). Heidi is upset that Hunter wants to replace her, Susan laments the time consuming nature of the show's development and is concerned about profit sharing, Jeff is upset at Hunter for pushing hard for changes that wound the integrity of the show, and Larry (the accompanist) feels left out of the press photos and interviews. Hunter lashes out at all of them and leaves in a huff. Later, Hunter breaks the ice by apologizing. More apologies follow, and the four (led by Heidi) wax nostalgic over younger, happier, less complicated days ("A Way Back To Then"). They now understand that the show must sink or swim as it is — with the five of them, without a "bankable" star — because their relationship and the quality of their creation are more important to them than commercial success ("Nine People's Favorite Thing"). Having reached a resolution, they decide to end the show, to "put the show out there and see what happens" ("Finale").